Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-11-11
ENDORSEMENT OF JOHN.
EXPLANATORY NOTES BY REV. GEO.
L. HAYS, D. D., IL. D.

~ " INV
Fourth QUARTER for sunday, Now 13.
Text of the Lesson, Matt. ri, 2-15.
co,,,,,, r,v, ,,,, ..
Johns Encouragement must have been ex-
IRENE as month after month he lay in prison
under lferoi's oppressive government. What
strange mcditations he must have had i'll that
prison He could look back on no unfaith-
fulness that deserved the rcprOof of his re-
moval from public activity. In no case had
he sought to thrust himself into prominence
to the exclusion of Christ 1t would not be
strange, then, if in his loneliness there should
be times when his faith would waver lie
might well say. Surely il Jesus is the Mes
siah whose forcrunner ! really was, and he
has the miraculous power Of which | hear so
much, he will speedily come to my deliver
ancc. 1t seems to have been out of this spirit
of encouragement under Christ's neglect
that John sent these messengers ". 2, 81. 1t
would have been a solace to know that his
| imprisonment was part of the programme,
and that after all, all was right.
Christs mothods.-Christ rarely gave di
rect replies. One difference between direct
reply and statement of evidence is this: y
direct reply assumes responsibility ON the
| part of the person giving it; a statement of
| evidence leaves the responsibility on the per
son to whom the evidence is submitted IL
| Christ had simply said yes" John could
| fairly have said, "Then | have no further
responsibility in the matter" This was not
| Christ's purpose with John any more than it
! is with us. How many havo wished that
! God would. by IN audible voice from heaven,
tell them just what they ought TO doc If he
did, however, that would relieve them of the
responsibility of determining their duty; and
this is just what God lays ON every one of us.
Christ shuts John up to act upon the evil
dence the facts afforded as to the Messiah
| ship.
Various translations.-Thi fact is curl
ously alluded to by tho three different trans
lations which in various editions of the Eng
liSh Bible have been given to the sentence,
| "The poor have the Gospel preached to
Them \ very early English Bible has it,
"Poor men have taken to preaching the Cos
pel;' another translation was, Poor men re-
ceive the Gospel now we have it, The poor
have the Gospel preached to them"
Christ's estimate of John. hon Johns
messengers had departed, Jesus turned to the
multitude and discussed john There is a
keen criticism upon one phase of human ma
turc in ChriS'S question ". y, What went
We ont 90 sec" Multitudcs find what they
doterE,inc beforehand that they will find
They find a prophet when they 20 out to seek
a prophet, and a reed shaken with tine wind
when they go to look for it, and man
clothed in soft railnent when they have con
demucd him for that beforehand Christs
question suggests a re-e2amindtion Of their
preconcnired opinions and ro-examinatiOn
of Johns claims to divine commission.
As To JOHN each step is a rcproot of some
popular prejudice and an Endorsement Of
John. \ reed shaken with the wind was
then and is still a mctaphor}cal name for an
undecided and irresoluto man. Those who
looked for such indecision in John were Won
drously mistaken, from King Herod down
through all the rest. SO those who made
temporal case a1i comfort proof of divine
favor We're sadly mistaken in Johns case.
His raimont was c'ncrS hair, his girdie
leather and his food locUsts and wild honey.
His life was hard, but his mission was sub
lime. So those who had thrown around the
Old Testament prophets their imaginary hale
OF unreality were much disappointed at
Johns directness and simplicity. The Saviour
however, puts him before all the prophets
whom the jews then 50 highly glorificd.
Blood arncstness.-Earncst people nearly
always succeed, and usually deserve success
w